


Ask Away

by Hollyspacey



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Getting to Know Each Other, Questions, answers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-18
Updated: 2017-08-18
Packaged: 2018-12-17 00:18:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11840067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hollyspacey/pseuds/Hollyspacey
Summary: Darcy decides that the best way to deal with Bucky is to pester him with questions. It totally works.





	Ask Away

**Author's Note:**

> Big hugs to littleplebe who read this and gave me some much-needed confidence. Thanks, my dear! <3

It was a tactic she had learned and perfected in her early days with Jane. Whenever the scientist would get too invested in her work and forget she had an intern, Darcy would just start asking her stuff. A nonstop river of questions in her ear until she couldn't ignore her anymore. Basic things at first: sibling listing and food preferences and favorite tv shows, and later, questions about Jane's work. 

It didn't matter that Darcy didn't always understand what Jane was talking about, she was getting answers and that's all that mattered. Eventually, Jane caught on and she realized that somehow her intern had become her friend. Her best friend, as it were. And Darcy realized how effective her strategy was. 

After Erik came back to them, after the Loki mindfucking, when he was still a mess, Darcy used it on him. He would withdraw inside his head, effectively cutting himself off from the world. So Darcy would needle him with questions. Force him to be present. Draw him out and make him think. 

She wasn't naive enough to think it would kill the demons that had made their home in his head, but she liked to think it helped. Maybe shut the door on them when they were being extra loud. Whether or not it had anything to do with the fact that he now had days where he could concentrate on one thing, or the fact that he wore pants more often than not, Darcy considered it a win. She thought maybe the new surroundings helped, too. Jane had recently agreed to come work with Tony Stark and they'd all packed up and moved to upstate New York to the Avengers facility. 

Darcy found this a new place to test her method. Breaking Tony out of his science benders by hassling him with questions until he promised to behave just to make her stop pestering him. Swallowing her fear and wedging herself into a friendship with Natasha, someone who operated the opposite way, seemingly knowing everything without asking a single question herself. Darcy was eternally impressed by the redhead and her mysterious ways, but Darcy stuck to what she knew.

So when Steve dragged his old/new friend back to the facility and Darcy saw that he had shut himself off and was just going through the motions of _being back_ , she knew she had her work cut out for her. He was rarely alone at first, becoming a sort of reluctant shadow to Steve, responding to people only when directly spoken to, attending dinners and hanging out in the common areas likely because he knew that was what Steve wanted and he knew how important Steve had been to him, and still was. Whenever he was out around the others, his eyes would dart around the room, head constantly on a swivel, cataloging his surroundings. 

It was months before Darcy caught him alone. She plopped herself into the seat beside him at the kitchen table and took a bite of her sandwich. “What's your favorite color?” Darcy asked without preamble. 

A pair of deep blue eyes stared back blankly. Darcy asked again, “What’s your favorite color?” 

Those same deep blue eyes narrowed just the slightest bit. He obviously didn’t know who Darcy was, or about her m.o. when dealing with people. Or maybe he was just wondering how an individual as clearly deranged as she was had gotten into the secure facility. 

“It’s just a question,” she said encouragingly. 

The eyes narrowed again, this time not in suspicion, but like he maybe was actually considering her question. He obviously realized she was decidedly not a threat and was possibly just going to answer her just to get her to leave him alone. But he wasn’t used to the questions, just as Darcy had suspected. She knew that Steve was trying the hands-off approach, leaving Bucky to sort things out and his own, to not push, to let him come out on his own time. 

Darcy respected that method, but she was too impatient for it. So, she asked again, “What’s your favorite color?” 

Those narrowed blue eyes finally relaxed and a softness came over his features. “Green,” he answered uncertainly, in a voice that still wasn’t used to small talk. 

Darcy hummed, “I like blue, now, but green was my favorite when I was a kid.” 

He nodded like he was taking in the information, but wasn’t entirely sure what to do with it. She continued, “Have you always liked green?” 

This time he answered a little more quickly, “I think so.” 

“That’s cool. Mine always changes. Sometimes from day to day. Like, a few months ago, I was really into purple, but Clint started getting a big head and I changed my mind pretty quickly.” 

There was a lull of silence as Darcy pulled out her phone and started texting, giving him a respite since he’d answered her questions. 

“I don’t remember everything.” 

Bucky’s voice broke the silence and Darcy paused only briefly in her typing. From what she had gathered, it was the first time he had spoken up without prompting since he’d come back, certainly the first time in front of her. She refrained from jumping up and doing a victory dance and instead spoke casually, “Well, that’s ok. The important stuff will come back. And if it doesn’t, you have Steve to remind you of things. You have all of us, really.” 

She stuffed the last bite of sandwich in her mouth and watched his sincere expression from behind her phone. Finally, she stood and went to leave. “Well, break time’s over. I have some rowdy scientists to check on. See you around.”

***

“When’s your birthday?” 

Darcy watched as Bucky looked up slowly from the tv screen to stare at her. He watched her as she walked across the room and sat down at the opposite end of the couch. Darcy pulled a few sour gummy worms from the bag she was holding before setting it down between them and motioning for Bucky to take one. His movements were careful as he slid his hand into the bag and pulled a piece of candy out, taking a bite. 

Darcy stuffed two worms in her mouth and spoke around them, “So, your birthday?” 

“March 10th. 1917.” 

Darcy whistled as well as she could with a mouth full of candy, “Whoo, boy. You two are so cute that I forget sometimes that you and Steve are so ancient.” 

Bucky stuck another worm in his mouth, his forehead wrinkling as he chewed. “M’not ancient,” he said indignantly. “Or cute.” 

Darcy chewed her candy. “You’re both, actually.” 

Bucky thought this over in silence, the only sound the crinkling of the bag as they ate the candy inside. He glanced over at Darcy. “When’s your birthday?” 

“June 13th. 1986.” 

He nodded and turned back to the tv. After a few moments, Bucky mumbled under his breath, “Sixty-nine years.” 

Darcy grinned and leaned over to elbow him. “Did you just calculate how much older than me you are?” 

Bucky shrugged and she laughed. She grabbed another worm from the bag and left the rest for him as she stood. She tapped him on the head before she walked away. “Don’t worry, you’re not too old for me. My cut off is seventy-five years older.”

***

Darcy was standing in the kitchen contemplating breakfast when a movement at the door caught her attention. She glanced up to see Bucky Barnes standing stock-still, staring at her. She gave him a welcoming smile and he slowly inched into the room, taking a seat at the bar. 

Darcy twirled her spatula at him and asked, “What do we want? Pancakes or waffles?” 

By this point, Bucky knew the drill and started thinking over her question. “Pancakes.” 

“I’m more of a waffle girl myself, but I can make a mean pancake. Janie loves them.” 

She started moving around the kitchen gathering materials. She glanced back from the refrigerator. “Plain, blueberry, or chocolate chip?” 

“It doesn’t matter,” Bucky mumbled. 

She gave him a stern look and repeated her question, “Plain, blueberry, or chocolate chip?” 

It was a few moments until he answered softly, “Chocolate chip.” 

“Ooh, good choice. I think that’s what I want, too.” 

He nodded and watched her measuring ingredients, eventually sliding off the stool and asking, “Do you need any help?” 

“Yeah, come over here. You can be my stirrer.” 

He came around the corner, looking the entire time like he might bolt at any moment. But he didn’t, just came to stand at her side, closer than he’d ever been before. She handed over the spoon and let him start stirring together the ingredients. 

“For the first two months of my internship with Jane, she refused to eat anything other than Pop-tarts, beef jerky, and those little orange crackers with the peanut butter inside. I swear I thought she was going to die of scurvy or something.” She paused, “Can you actually die of scurvy?” 

“I think so.” 

“Well, anyway, I kept hassling and hassling her to eat real food and sure enough, every morning I’d show up at the lab and she’d have orange crumbs all over the place. So one day, I hid every bit of food I could find in the lab, locked it all up in my room, and glared at her until her stomach started growling. An hour later, she started rooting around for her stash of junk food and couldn’t find any. She was so mad. So, I dragged her into the kitchen and offered to cook her anything she wanted, as long as it was real food.” 

“And she picked pancakes?” 

Darcy nodded with a grin, “She picked pancakes. And now she eats all kinds of foods like a real, proper adult. But I totally credit my pancakes for that.” 

“That’s a lot to live up to for a pancake.” 

“Just wait til you taste them, then you’ll get it.” 

Darcy never got a straight answer about whether her pancakes stood up to the hype, but she liked to think she knew his true feelings anyway. She was watching when he took the first bite and gave a little sigh, chewing slowly and then tucking into the rest of his stack like his life depended on it.

***

“Are you a cat person or a dog person?” Darcy asked, sidling up to Bucky as he walked through the hallway. 

“Can’t you be both?” 

She shrugged. “Well. Yeah, sure. But I think you can tell a lot about a person by forcing them to choose.” 

Bucky scratched the back of his neck as he thought it over. Darcy always appreciated how he put a lot of thought into his answers. He didn’t just answer flippantly to make her go away, he was careful with how he responded, despite how silly her questions were. 

It made sense, when you weren’t used to making choices for yourself, you were extra careful to make the right ones. 

“Cat? I guess. I used to have a cat when I was little,” he said, nodding to himself.

“Yes, tell me more,” Darcy said, angling her body towards him in order to give him her fullest attention. 

He thought for a moment, the softest grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. “She was black and white, name was Eloise. Named her after a girl I had a crush on.” 

Darcy burst out laughing. “Oh my god, really?” 

Bucky shrugged sheepishly, “What? I was eight, seemed like a good idea at the time.” 

“I guess I can’t say anything. I had a black and white cat when I was young and I went the most cliche. His name was Oreo.” 

“Like the cookie?” 

“Like the cookie,” Darcy confirmed. 

“Eloise is so much better,” Bucky said with a nod.

“Yeah, if your cat knits in her spare time and hands out hard candies to the kids at church each Sunday.” 

Bucky’s forehead wrinkled as he thought that over. “Is that another _old_ joke?” 

“Yeah, sorry. I can’t help myself.” 

“So uncalled for,” Bucky said under his breath, just loud enough to hear. Darcy might have felt bad if not for the tiny tilt at the corner of Bucky’s mouth and the fact that she had realized that he was a confirmed troll. 

They ended up at Darcy’s office and she stopped in the doorway. “Well, this is my stop. See you around.” 

“Bye,” Bucky said, stepping away. He stopped a few steps later and called back to Darcy. 

She poked her head around the door, “Yes?” 

“Are you a cat or dog person?” he asked.

“Oh, me? I’m both.” 

Bucky narrowed his eyes doubtfully. “I thought it was better to force someone to pick?”

“Yeah, but not me. Don’t you know by now that the rules don’t apply to me?” Darcy asked, shooting him a grin and ducking back into her office. 

***

Bucky had stopped by Darcy’s office to watch her work. He did that sometimes now, claimed that Steve would leave him alone for a bit if he knew he was doing something, and apparently sitting at Darcy’s desk while she typed up notes counted as something. 

She didn’t question it. To be honest, she liked the company, plus sometimes he would help her move heavy stuff that needed to be moved. But mostly she liked him being there, just the two of them hanging out while Jane was across the lab fully engrossed in her work. Darcy wasn’t sure she had even noticed Bucky’s presence. 

Darcy finished typing up a page and leaned back in her chair, stretching her muscles. Bucky was reading one of Jane’s textbooks that she had kept from her Culver days. 

“You got a favorite movie, Bucky?” Darcy asked. 

Bucky looked up from the book, thinking for a moment, and Darcy was glad to see that he was, once again, giving the question the consideration it deserved. 

“Didn’t have a whole lot of money for movies sometimes when we were younger.” He huffed softly and shook his head, fond smile on his face. “There was this one year, though. This movie, Top Hat came out. I was working extra down at the docks and Steve was not as sick as usual. We must have seen that movie a half dozen times.” 

“That good?” 

“Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, those two could dance. Plus, I had a thing for Ginger.” 

Darcy laughed. “I should have known. You cad,” she said playfully. 

“What? She was a beauty. And talented to boot,” Bucky said.

“She really was great.” 

“What about you? Your favorite movie?” Bucky asked. 

“The Wizard of Oz. I swear I watched it every day for like, an entire year when I was younger. I was in love. I still get those weird pangs of nostalgia when I watch it, you know? Takes me back.” 

“Yeah, I know what you mean. Steve and I actually went to the movies to see it when it came out. We took the Clarkson twins,” Bucky said with a soft look on his face. He looked calm and relaxed as he relived a movie from decades ago and Darcy was so glad she had asked him that question.

“You two were a couple of charmers, huh?” 

“I was. Steve, not so much,” Bucky said with a chuckle. 

“Bucky Barnes, Brooklyn Casanova.” 

“Something like that. Although, I’ve heard some of the stories people told about me and not all of them are true.”

Darcy grimaced. “Oh, god. Who let you read those things?” she asked.

“You were the one who showed me the internet.” 

Darcy sighed. “Yeah, I guess that one is on me. Don’t worry, I will keep your secret,” she promised. 

“I appreciate that,” he said with a chuckle. “Wouldn’t want my spotless reputation to be tarnished.” 

“Oh, no. Of course not,” Darcy giggled. 

She liked it when Bucky opened up like this. When he forgot his demons for a bit and let himself live. It was the whole reason she did the question thing. She just wanted him to be happy and free and she would take whatever small moments he allowed himself.

***

The night was one of those nights where everyone was in a good mood and the food and drinks seemed neverending and there was laughter everywhere. One of those nights where everything seemed as close to perfect as it possibly can be. 

It was good and Darcy was truly happy. Tony had organized a game night that had quickly devolved into a game and alcohol night which had further deteriorated into a drinking game night. Darcy was still sober enough to be in the audience instead of in the ring with Tony and Clint and Sam, the three of them playing a game in which their livers would be the biggest losers. 

Darcy could feel the heat of the alcohol and everything getting to her. She swiped her arm across her forehead and mouthed to Jane that she was going outside to get some air. Darcy opened the patio doors and stood in the cool of the night, face tilted toward the stars, arms spread as she let the cool night breeze brush over her. 

She heard the door open and then, “You having fun?” Bucky’s soft voice asked from behind her. 

She turned her head to the side and grinned at him, “Yep, you?” 

“Yeah, it’s fun.” 

“I saw you in there, being all social.” 

He chuckled. “I don’t know about all that, but it hasn’t been so bad.” 

Darcy stepped forward to the little railing that separated the patio area from the wide open field that sat behind the main building of the facility. She leaned against the cool metal and looked over the expanse of grass and out to the training areas beyond that. She felt Bucky get closer and he leaned on the railing beside her, looking forward. 

“Jane looked like she was having a good time. How’d you get her out of the lab for a whole night?” 

“As much as I would love to take credit, that’s probably all Thor. She’s been busy and missing him. It’s good for them to have a normal couple night with friends.” 

Bucky nodded and Darcy resumed her earlier silence. There was something different about Bucky. The way he’d been slowly opening up to everyone, especially Darcy. The way he’d started living. And suddenly he was curious about her. The tables had turned and Darcy could feel something in the air. The way she held his attention fully and it seemed like he was itching to ask her a million questions. 

She recognized that burning to find out things about someone, even though she was usually on the other side of it. So, she sat and waited for him to start asking. 

“Did you try Tony’s drink that he made earlier?” 

“Ugh, yes. It tasted ok but I think it had the entire bar in it. I only had a little, I would like to enjoy the night and not end it wrapped around my toilet bowl puking my guts out,” Darcy said. She had been the victim of Tony’s bartending before and honestly didn’t want a repeat any time soon.

“Can’t say I blame you there.” He huffed softly, “I had three glasses and feel just fine. I think it would take an awful lot to get me drunk now.” 

There was a sadness in his voice and Darcy understood. Sure, he never had to worry about a nasty hangover or bad tequila decisions, but this just felt like one more thing that had been taken from him. Small in the scheme of things, but still significant. One more thing that made him feel different, _other_ , and he already had plenty of those. 

“Just think, you are guaranteed to win all the drinking contests. Even probably against Tony.” She grinned up at him until he cracked a smile. 

“Suppose you’re right. Maybe I could even get some money out of him.” 

“Oh, yes. You should absolutely challenge him at some point. Get me something, too. After all, it was my idea.” 

“Of course.” 

Darcy nodded gratefully and looked forward again. Bucky shifted beside her and finally took a deep breath. “Did you and Clint make up after your argument earlier?” 

“No. I think I am going to torture him a little longer. If I hold out long enough, he’ll feel bad and let Lucky come stay in my room for a few nights.” 

“You’re devious,” Bucky said.

Darcy nodded proudly. “I am.” 

The space between them fell silent again and Darcy could feel Bucky itching to ask more, to keep drawing some sort of reaction from her. So, she stood there waiting patiently. After some nervous shifting from him and some peeks at his rumpled brow, she took pity on him. 

“You’re full of questions tonight, huh?” she asked.

He let out a soft breath and shook his head. “Serves you right, you been interrogatin’ me for months.” 

“It wasn’t _interrogating_. It’s called being curious, Bucky.” 

“Why’re you so curious about me, anyway?” 

Darcy pasted a solemn look on her face and took a deep breath. “Well, the truth is, I’ve been plotting to steal your identity. Figured I’d find out your social security number, open a few credit cards in your name, get some new stuff. Of course that would be impossible if I didn’t know what your favorite kind of candy was or that you broke your arm ice-skating when you were seven.” 

She grinned and bumped her hip against him playfully at the unamused expression on his face. “ _Or_ , maybe I just like getting to know you, did you ever think about that?” 

“M’not that interesting,” he said.

“Yeah, ok. Let’s go with the identity theft thing, then.” 

There was silence on the patio and then Darcy dared a small glance at Bucky. “I really do just like getting to know you, ya know. You’re a pretty decent fella, Mr. Barnes.” 

He didn’t respond for a moment, and when he did, there was a hint of confusion in his voice. “You mean that? That you think I’m decent?” 

Darcy looked at him until he met her eyes and she spoke with as much conviction as she could, “Of course. I think you are more than decent. I think you’re wonderful.” 

She ducked her head back away from him in hopes that he wouldn’t see the flush that she could feel blazing across her face at what she’d confessed. Out in the distance there was the sound of bugs and the wind through the trees and the occasional owl, but the space between Darcy and Bucky was silent. 

“Hey, Darcy?” 

She looked over at him and he inched a bit closer, turning his body toward hers. She could feel the heat of his body as he came nearer, just the slightest temperature change warming her up in the cool of the night. He’d never been that close before and she was dizzied by it.

“Yeah?” she asked.

His eyes were dark and his voice was soft as he asked, “Can I kiss you?” 

Darcy thought she had never been asked something so lovely before as she nodded softly and inclined her head for Bucky to press his lips to hers. And suddenly, all the questions left her head as she felt like she had all the answers she would ever need.


End file.
